Baidu invests in Israeli music technology start-up Tonara

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Music education technology company Tonara said on Tuesday it raised $5 million in a funding round led by China’s dominant search engine Baidu and Israel’s Carmel Ventures.

Baidu’s investment and partnership will accelerate Tonara’s growth, particularly in China, the world’s largest music education market, the Israeli company said.

In December, Baidu made its first direct investment in an Israeli start-up when it invested $3 million in video capture firm Pixellot. It is also an investor in Carmel Ventures’ newest fund.

Tonara offers two apps: Tonara, a digital sheet music platform that follows played music and flips the pages during rehearsal and performance, and Wolfie, which provides interactive music lessons to support teacher-student communication.